Goodbye, Cherry
by switchbladesandhairgrease
Summary: When Cherry is forced to go to a party with one of her middle-class friends, a lot more than she intends happens.


**This is mainly a "what would happen" fanfic. My cousin wrote a story similar to this one, so you should check hers out. Her penname is "alley arlington". :) So, I hope you enjoy this. When you get done reading, I'd appreciate it if you reviewed. :)**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own ****_The Outsiders_**

* * *

****Cherry stared down at the piece of plastic in disbelief. She was pregnant. The worst part about this pregnancy was that the father was a greaser. A filthy, disgusting, no good hoodlum. A loud knocking echoed throughout her large bathroom.

"Sherri, are you all right?" her mother's voice called. Tears swelled in her eyes. She felt as if she had betrayed her parents. Her mother's sweet voice called out again. "Sherri, can you let me in?"

"J-Just a m-minute," she called out. Cherry quickly opened a drawer and tossed the life changing device into it. Carefully and quietly, she shut the drawer. Cherry pulled herself up and wiped her eyes. She glanced at herself quickly to make sure she looked presentable. Her make-up hid her colored cheeks, so it was almost impossible to tell she was crying. She unlocked the door and opened it. Her mother stared down at her; her green eyes stared in Cherry's.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to come to the store with your father and me," Cherry weakly shook her head.

"No thanks, Mom," she answered softly. Mrs. Valance nodded her head and offered a small smile.

"All right, dear, but if you go anywhere, leave a note or something," Cherry nodded her head, and her mother walked off. She slipped back into her bathroom and went to grab her pregnancy test. If she didn't go to that party, this wouldn't have happened. One of her middle-class friends talked her into going; she knew she was going to be one of the only soc girls there, but she said yes anyways. Turns out, there wasn't even any guys from her social class, but there were a ton of greasers. What were they doing here? Cherry was disgusted. Most greasers were disgusting, especially greaser girls. Cherry's friend ended up talking her into drinking. She doesn't know how, though; Cherry hated alcohol. After a couple beers, she was beyond drunk. Cherry doesn't remember much after that, but she remembers waking up in the arms of a greaser. One of Ponyboy's friends. To Cherry, Ponyboy was a nice kid, so was his friend, Johnny, but she wasn't sure about the other guys. Cherry threw the plastic back into the drawer and headed for her car. She couldn't believe this, she was going over to the East side.

XxXxXxX

Cherry pulled up to the Curtis house. She only knew he lived there because she gave him a ride home once. She had to stay after to help one of her teachers, and Pony had track practice. When it was over, it was raining really hard, and no one was around, so she gave him a ride home. Sherri parked her car and carefully got out. She shouldn't be here. It was dangerous for her to be here alone. Several alarms went off inside her head, but she didn't listen. She stepped onto the sidewalk and began towards their house. For this part of the neighborhood, their house wasn't too bad. It was definitely one of the nicer ones. She carefully stepped onto their porch. It looked as if it was going to break if she moved too fast. Cherry reached the door and stared at it for a few moment. Should she do this? She wanted to turn and run, but instead, she made a fist and knocked loudly. She heard several noises within and a couple of muffled shouts. Finally, the door swung open to reveal a very shocked Ponyboy.

"Cherry? What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. Sherri laced her fingers together and looked towards the old wooden porch.

"I, um, I came to see if Steve was here. I need to talk to h-him," she answered nervously. Pony held over the door.

"He's in the kitchen," Ponyboy allowed her entrance into his home. She thanked him and immediately headed to their kitchen. Sure enough, Steve was sitting at the table eating chocolate cake.

"S-Steve, we need to talk," she said softly. Fear was racing throughout her body. Steve looked at her and took another bite. The look on his face told her to go on. "Do you remember Mason Ryder's party last month?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Cherry advanced towards him and pulled out a chair. She sat down across from him and looked into his eyes.

"Well, both of us were highly intoxicated, and we kind of did some things, and now I'm pregnant with your child," Steve choked on his cake. She jumped back in fear.

"You ain't pregnant with my child," he told her in disbelief. Cherry's eyes narrowed, and she nodded her head.

"Yes, I am," she replied calmly.

"Well, get rid of it," Steve said. Cherry shook her head. "I don't want it, and I sure as hell ain't the fatherly type. I can't take care of any kid."

"I never said I wanted your help," Cherry told him smoothly. "I just wanted to inform you that you're going to be a father." She got up from her seat and turned around. Cherry began heading towards the door, ignoring all the stares she got from the remaining gang members. A thought floated to her. She still had to tell her parents.

XxXxXxX

That night at dinner, she debated sharing the news. It was nothing to be proud of, and she feared how her parents would take it. Her guardians hated greasers. Cherry got lost in her thoughts and absentmindedly started playing with her peas.

"Sherri, are you okay?" her father asked. Cherry sat her fork down and sighed. She looked at her parents and shook her head sadly.

"There's something I need to tell you two," she said. Her mother offered a smile.

"Sherri, you can tell us anything," Mrs. Valance said sweetly. Cherry shook her head again.

"Y-You're going to be really upset," Cherry said again, putting extra emphasis on 'really'. Her father's eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" he asked, growing impatient. Cherry winced. Her father has never been patient, and when someone hesitated, he got angry.

"I, um, I, I'm . . ." Sherri stuttered.

"What it is?" his voice was louder this time. Mrs. Valance sat her hand on his arm to calm him.

"Go on, Sherri, take all the time you need," Cherry nodded her head and closed her eyes. What was the point of beating around the bush. She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant, and the father is a greaser," she spit out quickly. She kept her eyes closed. Cherry couldn't bear the image of her parents' disappointed faces.

"Sherri, you know that we're going to have to send you off to Grandma, right?" her mother asked. She nodded her head weakly.

"I'll go pack my bags," she said, wanting to get as far away from her father as possible. Cherry opened her eyes and avoided eye contact. She slid out of her seat and hurried to her room. It broke her heart that her parents were sending her away so easily, but she didn't blame them. Well, she finally got to get out of Tulsa. But she didn't want to go this way. Cherry sadly packed her bags. Her parents would probably ship her off tomorrow, the sooner to them was definitely better. She didn't even bother telling her friends; her parents could do that. Cherry had nothing to lose; she was never going to see the faces she loved again because her grandma couldn't afford sending her back for a visit. Besides, her parents probably didn't want to see her again. A tear sprang to her eye. She didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. Her parents already had their minds made up. And they definitely wouldn't be changing that for her. Cherry sighed sadly to herself.

"Good-bye, Tulsa," she said weakly to herself. She was going to miss this run down town.

* * *

**review loves. :)**


End file.
